Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the

Federal Government and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to “provide
spending details of public funds and private sector donations to provide
socio-economic benefits to the country’s poorest and most vulnerable
people, including details of beneficiaries of any cash payments, cash
transfers, food distribution and other benefits during the lockdown in
Abuja; Lagos and Ogun states because of COVID-19.”

SERAP is also asking the Federal Government and CBN to: “disclose
information on the details of implementation of the school feeding
programme during the lockdown and closure of schools in several states
where the programme is being implemented, including the number of
children that have so far benefited from the programme and the names of
the communities, since the lockdown and closure of schools, as well as
the number of cooks engaged.”

In two Freedom of Information (FoI) requests sent to Ms Sadia
Umar-Farouk, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and
Social Development, and Mr Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, SERAP said:
“We are seriously concerned that millions of the country’s poorest and
most vulnerable people have not benefited from the announced
palliatives, donations, reported cash payments, cash transfers and other
benefits.”

SERAP said: “Providing socio-economic benefits to the country’s poorest
especially at this time of COVID-19 crisis is a matter of human rights,
not charity. It is also implicit in Nigerians’ right to freely use their
natural wealth and resources, which ought to be spent for the public
good. Ensuring that relief funds and donations are used to provide
much-needed benefits to beneficiaries is critical to keeping people
alive, and addressing vulnerabilities and inequalities in the country.”

In the FoI requests dated 4 April, 2020 and signed by SERAP deputy
director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “Providing the
information would help to address the concerns by many Nigerians
regarding allegations of corruption and politicization in the
distribution of benefits, improve public trust, and enhance the
integrity of the entire processes and modes of distribution of
reliefs/benefits to these Nigerians.”

The FoI requests read, in part: “Rather than making physical cash
payments to the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people, we urge
you to begin electronic cash transfers to all beneficiaries through
individuals’ Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), already available through
the banks. This would be cost-effective at this time of crisis, provide
immediate and significant benefits, as well as give individuals and
families the freedom to spend the money on goods and services that best
meet their particular needs.”

“If we have not heard from you within 7 days of the receipt and/or
publication of the FoI requests, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall
take all appropriate legal actions under the Freedom of Information Act
to compel you to comply with our requests.”

“Nigerian authorities are locking down states without adequately making
provisions for the access of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable
people to basic necessities of life like food, healthcare, and other
basic needs during the duration of the lockdown, and to address the
corrosive impacts of COVID-19 on these Nigerians.”

“Rather than sending relief materials to the country’s poorest and most
vulnerable people, which may be diverted and in any case, may not be
what certain individuals and families may need, we urge you to focus
more on urgently making electronic cash transfers to these Nigerians to
determine by themselves how they wish to spend the money to meet their
peculiar individuals’ and families’ needs.”

“Providing direct, regular, and unconditional electronic cash transfers
to the country’s poorest and the most vulnerable people, including
workers and pensioners that have not been paid for months is the best to
stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country, and to save millions of
Nigerians’ lives. The power to spend cash helps preserve a person’s
basic human dignity.”

“We urge you to refer to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) for prompt, thorough and transparent investigations of
allegations of corruption in the distribution of relief funds and
donations for COVID-19 and the politicization of the process for the
distribution funds, as well as to urge the anti-corruption bodies to
effectively prosecute any credible cases of corruption.”

“We are concerned that some 80 million of the country’s poorest and most
vulnerable people would be negatively affected by the lockdown and
stay-at-home order without effective, transparent and direct
socio-economic intervention funds, food, standard health care services,
clean water, and other reliefs by the authorities.”

“We request you to provide us with copies of the National Social
Investment Programme (NSIP) and the social national registers and the
lists of beneficiaries under these registers that have so far benefited
from any palliatives, donations, cash payments/transfers and other
benefits during the lockdown.”

“According to our information, following the announcement by President
Muhammadu Buhari of lockdown in Lagos and Ogun states and Abuja to
reduce the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the Federal
Government reportedly started disbursing N20,000 Conditional Cash
Transfer to each of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people at
the Kwali Area Council of Abuja.”

“According to reports, over 11 million of the country’s poorest and most
vulnerable people have been identified in 35 states to benefit from the
Federal Government cash transfers and other palliatives and reliefs.”

“We urge you to publish weekly spending details on COVID-19 relief funds
and donations and the list of all beneficiaries.”

SERAP also urged the Federal Government and the CBN to provide:
Details of the number and list of all beneficiaries, including people
living with disabilities (PWDs), who have so far benefited from the
relief funds, donations in the forms of palliatives, cash payments, cash
transfers and other benefits in Abuja, and Lagos and Ogun states and
other states, because of COVID-19 pandemic, as well as details of what
the authorities are doing to make these benefits available to the
country’s poorest an equitable basis;
Details on modes of distribution of funds, donations, including the
total amounts of food items, cash payments, cash transfers and other
benefits that have so far been made;
Details of the total amounts from the proposed N500 billion COVID-19
intervention fund that would be spent to provide direct electronic cash
transfers and other direct benefits to the country’s poorest and most
vulnerable people, as well as the number of such people planned to be
reached in the next 6 months;
Details of the total amounts of donations from the private sector being
coordinated by the Central Bank of Nigeria that have so far been
received by the authorities and the list of donors that have not yet
redeemed their pledges;
Number of trucks deployed to convey food and other relief materials to
the country’s poorest and most vulnerable people, and the total number
of states that have so far benefited from such materials;
Details of any plan to provide social and economic benefits to the over
80 million of the country’s poorest and the most vulnerable people,
beyond the 11 million targeted by the Federal Government across 35
states, as well as details of what the CBN is doing to use the donations
to provide direct socio-economic benefits to the country’s poorest and
most vulnerable people on an equitable basis, and with geographical
spread